Tata Steel says Jamshedpur FC’s ISL exit was a planned strategic return to grassroots

Jamshedpur FC's decision to withdraw from the upcoming Indian Super League season was a long-planned strategic move, Tata Steel Vice-President (Corporate Services) D.B. Sundara Ramam said in New Delhi on August 4, 2026. He said the exit was intended to refocus the club on grassroots football and was not connected to recent questions over the league's commercial arrangements.

The withdrawal came months after uncertainty over the ISL's future following the expiry of the Master Rights Agreement between the All India Football Federation and Football Sports Development Ltd, and brought to an end Jamshedpur's nine-year run in the top flight; the club is one of the ISL's founding sides from 2017. "The current decision has nothing to do with whatever changes have happened in the last one year. Our decision has been independent of that," Sundara Ramam told PTI in an exclusive interview. "Even if the earlier long-term agreement continued, our decision would have been the same because this was an internal decision. We thought our bandwidth should be focused on our strength, which is grassroots football development."

Sundara Ramam said Tata Steel began reviewing its football strategy last year and decided to return to its legacy of grassroots development established through the Tata Football Academy. "We thought we should go back to our legacy of grassroots development because our football ecosystem has been there since 1987. ISL has been there for only around a decade," he said.

The company framed the move as strategic rather than financial. "It was a well thought-through and calculated move. We should work where we have strength — connecting with the community, nurturing young talent and preparing them to play at higher levels," Sundara Ramam said. "I would say it was not even a financial decision. It was a strategic decision on where we wanted to focus our bandwidth."

Jamshedpur's nine-year spell in the ISL included winning the League Winners' Shield in 2021-22 under Owen Coyle and reaching the ISL final in 2024-25. Sundara Ramam said Tata Steel would maintain its involvement in football through its existing development structures rather than through ISL participation.

On the Tata Football Academy and grassroots work, he provided specific figures and examples of alumni. "We started the Tata Football Academy in 1987. Since then, we have trained around 275 cadets, over 150 have represented India and 26 have captained the national team at various age groups," he said, and added: "Since starting our football grassroots programme in 2017-18, we have reached nearly 6,700 children. That ecosystem will continue and, in fact, receive greater focus." He also noted the academy has produced India internationals including Renedy Singh, Carlton Chapman, Deepak Mondal, Gouramangi Singh and Syed Rahim Nabi.

Sundara Ramam described the exit as a corporate decision taken through the company's governance processes. "This is a corporate-run club. It is not something one individual can decide. Once we got the board's clearance, we informed the AIFF, the players and everyone concerned," he said. He also rejected suggestions the move reflected friction with the national federation: "There has been no disagreement with the AIFF on participation fees or any other issue. We continue to enjoy excellent relations with them. This was purely a strategic decision."

He placed the decision in the context of Tata Steel's broader sports programme, noting the company supports multiple disciplines. "Football is only one part of our sports ecosystem. We support 19 different sports, including hockey, archery, climbing, swimming and athletics, and we have achieved considerable success in many of them," Sundara Ramam said, and added: "Sports is a way of life in Tata Steel. We will continue to promote different sports. That commitment remains unchanged."

Sundara Ramam said Tata Steel will now channel its efforts into its academies: "We thought, why don't we channelise our entire energy and time into our academies? That's where we have achieved success over several decades."